Improvement in gripers for wire-rope railways



J. HANSEN. Y Griper for Wire-Rope Railways.

No. 207,1I8. `VPatented Aug. 20, |878.

:i Timm QLQQQQM www W,

` UNITED STATES/PATENT OFFICE.

JOHAN HANSEN, OF `SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVEMENT rIn GRIPE-.Rs P OR WIREAROPE |'a| w/or*s.V

, Specification 4vformin g partI of Letters Patent No; 207,118, dated August 20, 1878; application `filed April e9, 1ers.

To alt lwhom it may concern: l i i Be it-*known that I, J OHN HANSEN, `of the city and county of San Francisco, State of Cali-V fornia, have invented a certain new and useful Improved Griping Device for Wire-Rope Railways, which invention is fully set forth and describedv in the following specification and accompanying drawings.. t

My invention has for its object toeonstruct van improvedgriping device for endless-rope -traction-railways, in which the cable can be. *dropped and. picked up again atA any point, ,-'Lwhereby the car or dummy is allowed to cross an intersecting cable-road, having its cable vlaidiover the iirstone. y f

T5 th's end my invention consists in `the Vconstruction and combination, with the gripeamo, of two hinged plates or, wings, carrying griping dies or jaws attached to the bottom of the frame, and having a movement upon their hinges away from each other and clear ofthe rope, and a contrary movementagainst each other to bring the griping dies or jaws into position and action above and below the cable.

` lower end the two wings BB', held by means of hinges b b, and having a movement in the arc cfa circle toward andv away from each other. One of the wings, B, has upon its inside face a fixeddie, C, and a movable die or jaw, D; but the other wing has a smooth face,

and' only serves to hold the rope in place between the dies as they are operated in starting a and stoppingA In line with the lower die are the two friction-rollers, to receive the c, ble when the dies or jaws are opened, and prevent any wearing ofthe lower die while the gripe remains stationary and the cable is running through it.

The rod F, that operates the wings B B',is

heldin bearings against the side post of the frame,and a foot,'f, between the two wings, proJecting at a right angle, is thrown out in either direction by means cfa lever, E, at' the top of the frame, so that either wing B can be thereby thrown out clear of the cable at any time by turning the rod.' n

The back and front ends oftlhe wings B and the inside face of their edges are rounded and beveled, to facilitate thepassing over the intersectingy cable of another road.

yThe movement of the two win gs B B against f: each other to close upon the cable is effected -by means of the bar G, carrying the wedgeshaped plate g at its lower end, which, by being 4drawn up by the lever H, causes the cam-surt lfaced fingers de c on the top of thewings to be pressed apart, and the 'le'viage'tlils given by them closes' the two wings tightly together and holds the cable in line between the two dies. 1

The upper die is xed,but the lower one is moved up to and away from it'to clamp or re-V lease the cable, and this upward movement of the clamping-die is produced by the same bar Gand lever H. Thisl die isixed-to the end of two arms, h h, that move in slot-s inthe inner face of the hinged plate B 5 and 'as these `arms'are secured tothe bottom of the wedgeplate of .the bar G, the die is by them drawn up toward the upper die as the lever H ispressed down.

The bar G slides up and down in bearings in the gripe-frame, and a wide slot or opening is left at theY bottom part, to allow the camfin gers 71, h to cross each other above the wedge- `plate and work freely therein.

ln the operation of my invention, by press-4 ing down the lever H the two hinged wings that embrace the cable are closed over it 'to bring the two dies in line-above and below it, and the continued movement 'ot' the lever f brings the lower die up, and holds the cable with a iirm gripe against the upper fixed die. The slight upward movement of the lever H to move the die, whenever the cable is'to be released or griped in stopping or ,starting the' car, does not act upon the hinged wings suiciently to-perinit them to useparate and dropt 'the cable; and only by raising the lever H to throw the wedge-plate' clear ofthe fingers can the lever E and rod F be brought into play to open the hinged wings B B'.

Thus, when it is desired to drop the cable at -any lpeint4 to allow the gripe to pass 'over another cross-cable, the wings and dies are re- "leased by raising the lever H, and the wing or plate B is thrown outward away from the cable by turning the lever of the rod F; and therefore when the curved ends of the hinged plates ystrike the cable or other obstruction, they f lwill readily spread out and pass over it, andv 2. In combination with the hinged wings or plates B B', one of which carries the xed die C and the movable die-D, the herein-described means of closing them together and operating the griping-die from the same lever H, consisting of the bar G, having the wedge g at 'its lower end, the cam-fin gers d e e, projecting from the top of the plates, and the arms hvh'of the die-plate moving in slots in one of the wingsand connected with the sliding bar G,

constructed and arranged to operate substantially 'as described and set forth.

3. In combination with the hinged. wings'B B', one of which carries the ixed and movable dies C D, operated substantiallyas herein described, the meansforopeningthesaidwings, consisting of the rod F, its foot f, and the lever E, constructed and arranged 'cooperate sub stantially as described and seti-forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 16th day 0f April, 1878.

JOHAN HANSEN, l[in s i Witnesses:

l0. W. M. SMITH, EDWARD E. OsBoRN. f 

